Transforming healthcare leadership: Integrating sponsorship ideals into pipeline development
Abstract
Black women,1 Hispanic women2 and other traditionally marginalised workers tend to be concentrated in the most labour-intensive, lowest-paid jobs in healthcare, underscoring the need for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by health and hospital systems to include a significant focus on creating pipelines and pathways for professional advancement within administration and executive leadership roles. University of Chicago Medicine (UCM), a leading research hospital system, recently launched a pilot sponsorship programme, designed by members of an employee resource group for women of colour, to increase exposure to growth opportunities for women employees of colour and to elevate awareness among white male senior leaders of their workplace experiences. By establishing a structured, professionally mediated and metrics-backed sponsorship programme pilot, UCM was able to formally support a process through which hospital leaders were: (1) made aware of the effect of structural racism on their workforce and workplace; and (2) given the tools and directives necessary to transform their own views on allyship and convert them into tangible actions to increase visibility and opportunities for women of colour within the pilot. The broader objective of this initiative and others like it is to increase Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) diversity representation among senior leaders at UCM from 28 per cent in FY2023 to 35 per cent in FY2025, reflecting the hospital’s vision to have more leaders who are representative of the community in which the hospital serves on Chicago’s South Side.
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Author's Biography
Faith Eatman , MPH, MBA, stands at the forefront of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in healthcare, leveraging over ten years of progressive leadership experience. With an extensive background in strategic planning, process improvement, change management and leadership, Faith’s expertise lies in forging DEI programmes that resonate across organisational layers, ensuring engagement and culture transformation. As the Improvement Program Manager and DEI Champion at the University of Chicago Medicine, she has been a pivotal force behind groundbreaking DEI initiatives. With a keen strategic insight, she has adeptly mentored and coached healthcare executives, transforming them into active DEI champions. Faith has devised mentorship frameworks that have not only enriched the lives of staff from marginalised communities but also propelled them to elevated roles. A hallmark of her achievements is an innovative sponsorship programme tailored for Black women, which has been lauded for its inclusive vision. In addition to her institutional role, Faith’s voice resonates across the healthcare sector. She has been a featured speaker at numerous esteemed conferences, discussing nuanced topics related to health equity and increasing leadership diversity in healthcare.
Brenda Battle serves as Senior Vice President for Community Health Transformation and Chief Equity Officer, in which role she oversees efforts to design University of Chicago Medicine’s (UCM) community-health management strategy, develop and implement coordinated, innovative healthcare solutions to address healthcare disparities and foster innovation in UCM’s care delivery system by crafting care models that promote diversity, inclusion and equity. Brenda leads efforts to integrate the resources and strategies of the UChicago Medicine with the assets and resources of the community to meet the health-care needs of populations served by the UCM system. Brenda oversees UChicago Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative (UHI), which facilitates and coordinates efforts to address complex health and social needs of residents on the South Side of Chicago by bringing a collaborative, community-based, and participatory problem-solving approach to the health and social needs of UCM’s patients and the broader community. Prior to joining the UCM, Brenda was the director of the inaugural Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence for Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO, where she oversaw programmes to eliminate health disparities and promote DEI. Brenda has over 38 years of healthcare experience, serving as Executive Vice President, Government and Community Affairs for Medical Transportation Management (MTM), Inc., and leading operations in commercial and Medicaid managed care. Brenda has several publications and has served as national speaker on reducing healthcare disparities.
Jason Keeler is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the University of Chicago Medicine. In the role of COO, he oversees the operations of the medical centre, including the inpatient and ambulatory care delivery environments, operational excellence, support services, supply chain and pharmacy services. Jason joined UCM in 2011 as Vice President for Clinical and Procedural Services, where he was responsible for Perioperative Services, Radiology, the Mitchell Emergency Department, the Cath/EP Labs, Cardiac Diagnostic Services, the GI Lab, the Medical Procedural areas and the Transplant Center.
Citation
Eatman, Faith, Battle, Brenda and Keeler, Jason (2023, December 1). Transforming healthcare leadership: Integrating sponsorship ideals into pipeline development. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 8, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.69554/LROO1117.
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